Friends and Blogfriends

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

When Gena, of Still in the Works, graciously sent me some buttons for my EB Cardigan she also included a pretty little card and one of those mini sock keychain kits. Kurt immediately decided that he should be the lucky recipient to the finished sock and I agreed.



Isn't it cute? And a quick little knit. I worked the gussets in the lab today when we were waiting for things to evaporate. (Today was a good day in the lab - we ran an NMR on our fractions and one had the desired product in it. Yay!)

Speaking of gifts, did I ever show you the adorable little knitting bag my friend Jenna got me during Spring Break? She went on one of those bus tours where they drove around the country and volunteered in different places. So cool. And she brought home this.



It's where I've been keeping all of my bootee stuff while I finished up the last couple pairs. I decided to hold off on the fifth pair because that person due date is so far from now. I don't want to jinx anything and frankly, the bootees are finally get a little old... but they are still adorable!



And difficult to take a picture of. If I did it from one angle the ones in the back got all washed out, from another angle and the black ones melded into one big blob.

So that's what I've been working on. I'm not sure what to start next. I would like to start a pair of socks but am not sure who they would be for and then I would like to try a Pirate hat but I don't have the yarn for it and am trying not to spend money. Hmm, I'll figure out something.

Done, done, and done

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Yay! I finished the sweater, sewing on the buttons, on Saturday at our local Worldwide KIP Day. It was fun to hang out in the beautiful sunshine, meet knitters, and finish projects. I also finished two more pairs of baby bootees and a dishcloth. But on to the FO details of the day!



Pattern: Elizabeth Bennett Cabled Cardigan
Yarn: Cascade Cloud 9 in bright green (#115)
Needles: US 4, circulars, US 3, circulars (for button band)
Mods: I cut this beast in half and lengthened it because I have a super-long torso and I also lengthened the sleeves for my gorilla arms. Everything else was as the pattern was written.



And here is a close-up of the cables and the gorgeous buttons that Gena sent me. I love them! They are so delicate and perfect for the sweater. Thanks again, Gena! More FO pictures on my Ravelry.

I'm re-knitting the first pair of bootees because my perfectionist self can't leave the flubbed straps the way they are... and yesterday I found out ANOTHER friend of mine is expecting so there will be one more pair of bootees before I'm done. Pictures of all of them soon!

Messin' With the Blog

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

I found a new template that I love, love, love! But there is one slight problem... can you tell what it is?








Uh-huh, it's in Spanish. At least I assume that's Spanish. I'm not sure I have the skills to edit the pictures to another language in the right font... but I'll try for a bit and see what I can do.

I fixed it! And it was way easier than I thought it would be. This new* .xml template thing really is fantastic.

I'll post again with new knitting content soon. In the meantime I shall bask in the glory of a beautiful new blog-look. :)


*New to me, that is, because I've been avoiding it, stuck in my old ways.

Shake that Bootee

Friday, June 06, 2008

The second pair of bootees is coming along much nicer than the first. After hemming and hawing and just plain not understanding the long-tail-cast-on-in-the-middle-of-the-row thing forever last night, when I got to it, it just clicked. I wish I could take back the whining I did in front of my fellow knitters. Sorry guys!


I put my little fold-up scissors in the pic for scale. I used Knitpicks Essential for this pair. Here is a close-up of the finishing on the little straps. Through Ravelry, I found this great tutorial for the finishing details.


On the first pair, I had just crocheted around one loop which ended up a little bulky and it got a little stretched out. In the tutorial, you do some neat little embroidery stitches around TWO loops, which makes it more sturdy and less likely to stretch and is much less bulky. I cannot get over how damn cute they are. I don't know if anything I've knit before has ever had this attention to detail... makes me feel like I'm making a teeny-tiny masterpiece.

I also realize what a pain in the ass it will probably be for the recipients to button these little suckers on tiny wiggly feet. Luckily they are newborn size so they will only fit for a very short time anyway... and, if they are anything like I was at that point, it will still be worth it to put really cute things on the babe. It's after a month or so when the sleep-deprivation really kicks in that I thought "to hell with it" and just started slapping on whatever was clean. Haha.

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In other news, fellow blogger Gena virtually opened up her button collection to me and is sending me buttons for my Elizabeth Bennett Cardigan. Knitters are the best! Thanks again, Gena! Expect pictures soon.

FOs Galore

Monday, June 02, 2008

Pattern: Leafy Lace Socks, 10-stitch pattern from More Sensational Knitted Socks
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Lightweight, a gift from Jenna. Colorway Jade.
Needles: US 2 DPN
Mods: 50 stitches instead of the recommended 40 or 60. This messed with the pattern on the foot but fits perfect so I just did purls where the pattern would have gone on either side and left the center pattern intact. I think it looks great.

Okay, I'm cheating on this one a little bit as they're not quite completely finished but I had to show them off. Aren't they the cutest little bootees you've ever seen in your life?

Pattern: Saartje's Bootees
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock, Jade colorway
Needles: Two US 2 DPNs
Mods: Not exactly mods... I didn't follow the instructions for the straps quite as well as I should have and so had extra work getting them finished. One thing I can say about these bootees is that they win first prize for Most Fiddly Finishing but I think (think!) it's worth it. I ended up quitting today because I realized once I sewed on the cute little green buttons that I only seem to have three of them. Doh! I have another button that is very, very close that may have to sub in but I haven't decided yet.